1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communication networks and, in particular, to providing for communication between a real world environment and a virtual world environment.
2. Statement of the Problem
A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment that users may inhibit and interact with one another. One example of a virtual world is Second Life, which may be accessed at “www.secondlife.com”. To access a virtual world, a user (also referred to as a “resident”) downloads a client program to his/her PC. The client program communicates with one or more virtual world servers to access the virtual world. The user establishes an account in the virtual world and defines an avatar which is a graphical representation of the user in the virtual world. A basic avatar is human in appearance, but avatars may be of either sex, have a wide range of physical attributes, and may be clothed or otherwise customized to produce a wide variety of humanoid and other forms. Through their avatar, a user may explore the virtual world, meet other residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.
The main method of communication in a virtual world is text based. There are two main methods of text-based communication: local chat and global instant messaging (IM). Chatting is typically used for public localized conversations between two or more avatars. IM is used for private conversations, either between two avatars, or between the members of a group. Some virtual worlds now allow for real-time voice communication between the avatars in the virtual world. For voice communication, the client program provides an audio interface for the user. The user has a head set or some other device that works in conjunction with the audio interface of the client program to capture the voice of the user and provide the voice to another party in the virtual world. Similarly, the audio interface provides the voice of the other party in the virtual world to the user through a speaker in the head set.
One problem with present virtual worlds is that they only allow for communication between users of the virtual world. As virtual worlds become more popular and the features become more usable, it may be desirable to merge some features of the virtual world with the real world (i.e., the world in which we live). For example, it may be desirable to allow a virtual world user, through his/her avatar, to place a call to a real world user. Unfortunately, the virtual worlds and the real worlds are not presently merged to allow for such communication.